The nation's de facto embassy in Washington requested the return of diplomatic papers relating to an espionage investigation involving a top US diplomat last month, according to court documents -- possibly signaling the Taiwanese government's unwillingness to cooperate with Washington in the case.
The papers relate to the US' case against Donald Keyser, former principal assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, who was arrested in September 2004 on suspicion of espionage, after the FBI witnessed him handing an envelope to two Taiwanese intelligence officers, Isabella Cheng (程念慈) and Lieutenant General Huang Kuang-hsun (黃光勳).
Keyser admitted to having an affair with Cheng, but denied that he had been involved in espionage or that the Taiwanese officials had sought classified information from him.
Cheng handed over the papers that Taiwan wants returned to the FBI in 2004.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said that "he had no information" on Taiwan's request to retrieve the documents. But the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), which represents Taiwan in Washington, felt the issue was sensitive enough that they asked for a gag order on the motion.
District of Columbia District Court Judge Paul Friedman rejected TECRO's request that the motion to return the papers be kept secret, and transferred the hearing to the court responsible for the Keyser case.
The development is the latest in a long series of twists.
Prosecutors were initially unable to establish a solid case against Keyser, and espionage charges were never brought against the 63-year-old former diplomat.
In December, he made a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of making false official statements in connection with his relationship with Cheng, and one count of unlawfully removing classified documents, which the FBI found in his home.
Keyser faced a possible 13 years in prison, and was already awaiting sentencing when, in June, prosecutors decided to overturn the plea-bargain, saying they would seek new "espionage-related" charges against Keyser.
In support of their motion, prosecutors cited the results of two polygraph tests, which are inadmissible in most US courts as evidence because of their unreliability. Prosecutors also cited classified accusations provided by an undisclosed source, which have not been shared with Keyser, although his defense team received a summary of the evidence.
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